Cattaraugus Reservation
Encyclopedia
Cattaraugus Reservation is an Indian reservation
of the Seneca Indian Nation of the Iroquois
Confederacy located in New York
. As of the 2000 census, the Indian reservation had a total population of 2,412. Its total area is about 34.4 mi² (89.1 km²). It is divided among three counties for census purposes:
The reservation stretches from Lake Erie
inward along Cattaraugus Creek
, along either side of NY 438
. There is a small cluster of Seneca-owned businesses along US 20 and NY 5
where they cross through the reservation, including a Bingo Hall with a Poker Room and various video slot machines. Interstate 90
crosses through the reservation with the closest exit being in Irving, New York
.
The reservation is mostly rural, with one-family homes along Route 438 interspersed with businesses such as tobacco
shops. The reservation is divided into several communities such as Newtown, Bucktown, Pinewoods, Eleven Acres, Ozarks and Indian Hill. At the center of the reservation along Route 438 are the Seneca Nation
government offices, Head Start/Daycare Center, Community buildings and the volunteer fire department.
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
of the Seneca Indian Nation of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
Confederacy located in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. As of the 2000 census, the Indian reservation had a total population of 2,412. Its total area is about 34.4 mi² (89.1 km²). It is divided among three counties for census purposes:
- Cattaraugus Reservation, Cattaraugus CountyCattaraugus Reservation, Cattaraugus County, New YorkCattaraugus Reservation is an Indian reservation in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 314 at the 2010 census. The majority of the residents are of the Seneca Nation....
- Cattaraugus Reservation, Chautauqua CountyCattaraugus Reservation, Chautauqua County, New YorkCattaraugus Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Seneca tribe, located partly in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population of this portion of the reservation was 38 at the 2010 census, Most of the inhabitants are of the Seneca tribe....
- Cattaraugus Reservation, Erie CountyCattaraugus Reservation, Erie County, New YorkCattaraugus Reservation is an Indian reservation located partly in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 2,001 at the 2000 census....
The reservation stretches from Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
inward along Cattaraugus Creek
Cattaraugus Creek
Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately 68 miles long, in western New York in the United States. The creek drains a wooded rural portion of western New York southwest of Buffalo into Lake Erie. In its lower course it flows primarily through the Cattaraugus Reservation of the Seneca tribe...
, along either side of NY 438
New York State Route 438
New York State Route 438 is a north–south state highway located entirely in Erie County, New York, in the United States. Though signed as north–south, the route runs in an almost east–west direction for between Gowanda and Irving through the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation. The...
. There is a small cluster of Seneca-owned businesses along US 20 and NY 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
where they cross through the reservation, including a Bingo Hall with a Poker Room and various video slot machines. Interstate 90
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
crosses through the reservation with the closest exit being in Irving, New York
Irving, New York
Irving is a hamlet located in Chautauqua County, New York, USA. It is located near the east town line and the eastern county line in the Town of Hanover. US Route 20 and New York State Route 5 pass through the hamlet, which is also next to Cattaraugus Creek; New York State Route 438 terminates just...
.
The reservation is mostly rural, with one-family homes along Route 438 interspersed with businesses such as tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
shops. The reservation is divided into several communities such as Newtown, Bucktown, Pinewoods, Eleven Acres, Ozarks and Indian Hill. At the center of the reservation along Route 438 are the Seneca Nation
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
government offices, Head Start/Daycare Center, Community buildings and the volunteer fire department.